Beautiful Black Loch
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: Black Loch has always been a very special place in Thomas and Emily's hearts, but when a storm hits the island, Black Loch's beauty is destroyed, leaving Emily heartbroken. The question now is, can they restore Black Loch to it's former glory, or will it never be the same again?
Forests, flowery fields, the hills, or anything having to do with nature seems to bring out the happiest, most relaxed feelings for anyone, and on the Island of Sodor, this is no exception. Emily the Stirling Single is very happy to live on Sodor. As the only female engine in the Steam Team, she is considered special, beautiful and by some, precious. Just like all the other engines, she loved the features that made the island a beautiful place. She loved all the friends she had made since she first arrived, she loved flowers, thanks to her cobalt star, Thomas and she had many changes in her life. But there was one place which would always be in Emily's treasured memories…Black Loch. That was her favorite place, not just on the Island of Sodor, but in the whole world. It was a unique railway route, surrounded by steep cliffs, glamorous valleys, an ancient castle and a lake full of seals.

Emily could still remember that evening she and Thomas went there after she discovered that the seals weren't a monster at all. Black Loch is where their love began, grew and blossomed. Many important events took place here…where Thomas asked Emily on their first date, where she revealed why she changed her ways then gave him his first kiss, where they shared their first Valentines' Day, had their first anniversary and only recently, where Emily cured Thomas' worst heartaches by telling him she'll always live on Sodor forever. Since that happy night, Thomas became more precious to her…and so did Black Loch. She believed that nowhere else on Sodor could match the beauty and peace Black Loch brings. Much like Henry and his forest, Emily seemed to love nature the same way. Even during the hardest times of their lives, Thomas and Emily always felt the best being here…

One day, she and Thomas were returning to Knapford Sheds after another lovely evening at Black Loch, watching the seals play.

"I had fun today, Emily," said Thomas. "It's not often we get to see the seals play together."

"No, Tommy, it isn't," smiled Emily. "They're so cute…I look forward to our next visit there." At that moment, Donald and Douglas arrived. They saw Thomas facing Emily inside the sheds and turned red.

"Should we sleep elsewhere, lad?" asked Donald. "We dinna mean to intrude on ye," added Douglas. "That's alright, you two," said Emily. "I kind of like engines of my kind here…Scottish lads." Thomas stifled a chuckle. "Well, we haven't seen each other for several years…I wouldn't mind your company."

Donald and Douglas were happy to hear this. They found a turntable, turned round and backed in beside Thomas. He and Emily waited for them to be asleep before they kissed each other goodnight and fell asleep too.

At first, the night was peaceful…but a few hours later, a deep rumble of thunder loomed outside. Thomas heard it and was excited. Storms were noisy, but he didn't mind listening to it from the safety of his shed…and his angel. But a flash of lightning woke Emily up. She shuddered as the next thunderclap boomed through the air. Thomas buffered closer so she'd feel safe.

"It's just a storm, Emily," he said. "It will pass."

"I may sleep well with you, Tommy, but noisy weather keeps my mind full," said Emily.

"Do you know, lass?" added Douglas. "If Sailor John was still roaming around, I'd say it was him thundering by with Cap'n Callus' ship." All the engines laughed, except Emily. She remembered when Farmer McColl's baby calves needed her help after a storm hit…but this was a big one. She heard an even louder thunderclap that made her boiler hiss with concern…what would become of Black Loch?

Despite the flashes of lightning and the rumbling of thunder in the lingering storm, Emily fell asleep, constantly wondering…

By dawn the storm had passed, and a bright, colourful beam of sunlight burned through the parting clouds. At first Emily was amazed by the light, but her excitement was cut short by her driver. "The line is in a terrible mess," he said. "We'd better go help." As Emily worked her way along the line, clearing away branches and rocks, she asked kindly for help from whoever she could and thanked them afterwards, but she kept thinking long and hard about her special place. She prayed that it wasn't too badly damaged…

But when she reached Black Loch, her fears came true. Trees and rocks lay everywhere. Mudslides had streamed down the now-battered hillside, boulders were blocking parts of the line and some trees had crashed into the lake. Emily became very sad, and even frightened when she noticed it was a little quiet and deserted. "The poor little seals. Please be alright," she whimpered.

Seeing her favorite place in ruins was bad enough, but thinking about the seals made her feel even worse. She took some of the ruins to the shunting yard and timber mill. Along the way, she remained silent as her mind was clouded with misery, thought and concern. When she returned to Black Loch that afternoon, the mere sight of the ruins was so troubling, she couldn't hold her emotions in any longer. "It was such a beautiful place!" she exclaimed. "Now it's gone and finished!"

Then Emily began to cry unlike she ever cried before. Big tears leaked out of her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. She stopped working and stood there sobbing and wailing, overwhelmed by her sadness. As she began to sniffle, gasp and hiccup, Thomas and Henry came by. Immediately, they were both grief-struck by the damage and Thomas' heart sank at hearing Emily's sobs. Henry in particular was deeply troubled. Seeing a mess like this reopened some of his old wounds when he lost some of his forest the same way, and being sensitive as he was, seeing Emily this sad troubled him almost as much as Thomas.

"Poor Emily," said Henry. "It always troubles a man to see a woman cry."

"Yes indeed," agreed Thomas. "But it hurts me most of all to see my angel cry." He then huffed up to his sobbing angel.

Emily tearfully looked over to her love. "T-Thomas! Our favorite place! It's-it's-!"

"Shh…please don't cry, Emily," hushed Thomas. "We'll make things better, I promise. We CAN do this."

It felt good to hear words of support, but it didn't help Emily get over her despair. She continued to cry all afternoon. Her face was constantly soaked from her tears, her eyes were pink, she felt stuffed up and her running plate was dripping water everywhere. Hearing Emily cry even made Thomas cry himself. "Oh, Emily," he sniffled to himself. "It's OK. I'll help you like I promised."

While Thomas tried to follow Emily and reassure her, Henry grew worried. Emily was like a sister to him and he was very grateful for what she did for him. He remembered when she helped him while his tubes were leaking and when his safety valve was faulty. He still felt ashamed over taking her place in the sheds that night just over two years ago, even though it was the very night she and Thomas shared their first lip-kiss…and of course, she tried to reassure him that engines don't get chicken-pox. He could only think that Emily was a sweet, kind and considerate engine, just like she was. He decided he would help Thomas make her feel better so he could thank her for her kindness.

He went to Knapford Station right away. "Are you alright, Henry?" said the Fat Controller. "You look troubled."

"Oh sir, it's Black Loch," said Henry. "That place means more than the world to Emily and Thomas. But last night's storm has left it in a terrible mess. Like Thomas, it dampens my spirits to see Emily cry endlessly, and I want to thank her for everything she has done for me…if Black Loch had any chance of being restored."

"I've got a wonderful idea," said the Fat Controller. "Wait in the yards with Thomas, Henry. I'll have a train ready for you to take to the Black Loch route."

Henry met Thomas in the yards as agreed. He told Thomas about his intention to thank Emily and Thomas was very excited.

"Thank you, Henry. Edward was right, you may worry at times, but you do have a heart of kindness," said Thomas. Soon, the train arrived and both engines were very eager to help Emily now. Henry was to take flatbeds to clear away any remaining branches and boulders and Thomas was to take the breakdown train and a coach full of gardeners to repair the hills. "I can't wait to see Emily when she sees this!" wheeshed Thomas. All Henry could do was beam with anticipation as they went along the Black Loch route and began their work on repairs…

Emily arrived some time later. She had managed to stop crying but her eyes were still pink and her running plate was still wet. She was ready to burst into tears again but what she saw was nothing like she was expecting! The route was completely clean, the hillside had new rolls of grass being layed down and Henry's flatbeds were full of all the logs and boulders that had been there before. Just before she could say anything, she heard another sound which made her squeal with joy. What she heard was the barking of the seals. They came swimming back towards her and rested on the rocks just beneath her.

"Well, Emily," called Thomas. "Didn't I tell you we would make things better again? I'd never let this place go…it's much too precious to me…just like you."

Emily's eyes filled with tears of happiness. She buffered up to Thomas, covered his cheeks with kisses and wailed, "Thank you SO much, Thomas!" Thomas started to lightly cry himself. "I felt bad about what happened here, Emily. But now we have the most beautiful place on Sodor back!" Emily continued to sob happily and say "Thank you," over and over to Thomas. Then Henry whistled and Emily looked at him.

"Thank you, Emily, for the help you've given me over the years. I wanted to repay you by helping Thomas bring back this special place," Henry said proudly. Emily was happily touched by the green engine's words and stopped crying. "Then I must say thank you to you too, Henry," she chirped. Thomas kept gently kissing her while Henry simply smiled at Sodor's couple.

Now, every time Thomas and Emily visit Black Loch, they can see it is just as beautiful as it ever was. The repairs had paid off and even more visitors came along the route to admire the landscape and unique view. Sometimes, Thomas and Emily go out there at night to look at the stars and moon. Sometimes, they can see white doves in the night sky and rabbits in the bushes. When wind is in the air, they can hear the rippling sound of the lake and the occasional splashing and barking of the seals…and always they are happy here.

* * *

And this folks, is the first of many stories to be written by Jeremy, he has a lot more in the works, with three more being complete. As for the first one, is it similar to "Henry's Forest"? Yes, you could call it a rewrite of said episode, but Jeremy has put in a lot of effort to make the two seem different. As for the rest of his stories, for the next few weeks while our main attention is on "Thomas and Emily's Relationship", tune in every Friday for a new story written by Jeremy, and leave a review telling us what you thought of this first installment. Take care everyone and leave those reviews.


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